Tailor Made Media: Pro’s/Con’s

In this past workshop- while discussing PB4- the concept of how audiences control the media they consume was brought up. I personally use the app Flipboard to curate my news. I am able to subscribe to different ‘magazines’ that publish news stories. The ‘magazines’ being curated either by institutions like The New York Times or the BBC or by other users.

“Active Audience theory, which perhaps takes the stress on “what people do with the media” to its limit point. This perspective has often involved a somewhat naive and uncritical vision of how devices such as the remote control and the video recorder are supposed to have empowered the audience in new ways….. Critics who reassert the continuing necessity to address the political economy of the media and the watch in which structures of media power continue to limit and frame the activities of their audiences.” (Morley, 9-10)

This excerpt from David Morley’s New Keywords: A Revised Vocabulary of Culture and Society mentions the power that media institutions (structures) have when it comes to limiting and framing our minds.

If I get my news the traditional way (newspapers, broadcast, and long-standing institution) I am limiting my exposure to what THEY have decided is important.

If I curate my own news I am limiting my knowledge only to what I know I find interesting… and may be missing a lot of important and relevant information.

To be perfectly frank, I’ve realized I’m not really sure what the point of this post is. I guess, it’s simply to point out that we need to be critical of not only news providers – but ourselves. We have more access to different opinions and sources than ever before and it’s important not to continue to limit ourselves.

REFERENCES

David Morley (2005), Entry on ‘Audience’ in New Keywords: A Revised Vocabulary of Culture and Society, Ed. T.Bennett, L. Grossberg & M. Morris (Wiley-Blackwell), pp.8-10.